Athletic suit foe ladies



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1. REW. ATHLETIC SUIT EUR LADIES.

No. 545,173. Patented Aug. 27,1895.

A TTORNEY.

Ida

IDA. M. REIW, OF NEW YORK, N.

PATENT ATHLETIC SUIT FOR LADIES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 545,173, dated August 27, 1 895. Application filed May 27, 1895. Serial No. 550,757 (No modeLl To @ZZ whom r11/ty concern:

Be it known that I, IDA M. REW, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Athletic Suits for Ladies, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in athletic suits for ladies; and it consists particularly in the improved suit hereinafter fully set forth and described.

The objects of my invention are to provide a safe, reliable, and easy ladys suit, graceful in outline, hygienic in construction, light in weight, and of handsome and modest appearance, and while constructed mainly with reference to producinga perfect garment for lady cyclists it may be, nevertheless, admirably adapted to general athletic use. These objects I accomplish by means of the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whicli- Figure l is a perspective view of my improved suit as it appears upon the wearer. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the garment itself, a portion of the skirt being broken away to reveal the inner construction of the garment. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the garment on the line 3 3, Fig. 2,looking in the direction of the arrow thereon indicated.l Fig. 4 is a view of the under side of the garment, and Fig. 5 is a slightly-enlarged cross-sectional detail View of the garment.

A is a skirt.

B is the bodice or waist portion of the garment.

D D are shoulder-straps.

`By preference the skirt A and the bodice B are made in one piece, the seams running from the upper edge of the bodice to the lower edge of the skirt.

F. is a waist-Hap. The waist-line is substantially parallel and in the same plane with the section-line 3 3 in Fig. 2, and the tlap E by preference extends below this line. The bodice B, being open in front, is cut and fitted so that by drawing in the two front edges of the said bodice the adjacent side edges of the flap E may be buttoned or otherwise attached thereto, perfecting the t of the garment and giving graceful and easy lines. The purpose of extending the flap E below the waist-line is to afford sufcient space, when the said flap is loosened, as shown in Fig. 2, to permit the putting on or taking o f the garment.

F is the trousers portion, the upper edge-0f which is adapted to encircle the wearer at a point preferably below the waist-line, so that the entire weight of the garment F will not bear upon the hips, but be supported largely by the lining G of the bodice B, to which 1ining the said trousers portion is bypreference attached. This lining G is by preference loosely attached to the inner side of the bodice B and extends, preferably, up over the shoulders, so that the weight of the said lining G and the trousers portion F is supported thereby. By preference only the front portion of the band or upper edge of the trousers F is attached to the said lining, as shown in Fig. 5, while the rear upper edge of the trousers portion F is gathered around an elastic band or draw-string H. The outside edges of the trousers portion F are connected, by preference, with the inner sides of the skirt A, adjacent thereto, by means of strips l I, which may be separate pieces or may be formed by merely extending the material of each trousersleg or by extending the goreof the skirt. If desirable, each trousers leg may be attached to the skirt by one or more of these 'strips I I, which by preference eX- tend from near the upper edge of the trousers portion to a point near the lower edge of the skirt, as shown in Figs. l, 2, and 4. The width of the strips I l is sui'iieiently great so that in Walking or in the ordinary movement of the leg the skirt is not thrown thereby, yet in an attempt to mount a bicycle it materi ally aids in perfectly adjusting the skirt, obviating to a large degree hand adjustment. Furthermore, in riding a bicycle the skirt is prevented from either blowing up or swinging back sufficiently far to catch between the wheel and the rear fork of the bicycle, (a coinrnon tendency in the loose skirt,) which not only may soil or tear the garment, but too often is the cause of accidents. The side attachment of the trousers also insures sufficient fullness of the skirt in front to permit unim- IOC paired knee action-a particularly desirable i feature in cycling. The strips I I are by prefwhich might catch in the pedal or other part of the machine and endanger the safety Of the rider. An advantage of attaching the upper edge of the trousers F, as indicated, is that the Weight of the trousers portion cannot sag or draw the garment in any Way, so as to impair the lit of the same.

It is obvious that the Waist-flap E might eX- tend only to the waist-line and the trousers portion F be attached on that line. The connectingstrips I I might also consist of short strips attached in the manner above indicated. If desirable, the bodice and the trousers may be made integral and the skirt portion attached on the outside. The rear portion of the trousers-band could also, if desirable, be fastened to the inner lining.

All of these modifications are Within the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. An athletic suit for ladies, consisting of a bodice or Waist portion lined as described, a skirt extending therefrom, means for suspending the skirt and bodice from the shoulders and trousers secured to the lining, each trousers leg being loosely connected with the skirt portion of the garment by means of one or more suitable strips, substantially as described.

2. An athletic suit for vladies consisting ot a bodice or Waist portion, lined as described, a skirt extending therefrom, means for suspending the bodice and skirt from the shoulders, and trousers secured to the front portion of the bodice lining and a draw stringr in the rear upper edge of said trousers, each trousers leg being loosely connected to the skirt portion of the garment by means of one or more independent strips.

3. In a bicycle or athletic suit, a skirt and a trouser portion enveloped by said skirt,each leg of the said trouser portion being loosely connected to the said skirt by independent connecting strips between the outside ot the trousers and the inside of the skirt, substantially as described.

' IDA M. REW. Witnesses:

R. C. MITCHELL, II. M. SKINNER. 

